Chapter 513: What happened? (1/2)

At the same time atop an orange-brown plateau, the air suddenly twisted, contorting unnaturally. A moment later a singular dark dot appeared in mid-air, just at about an arm's length above the dust-covered surface.

Like the newborn child that was just presented with the bountiful heavenly mammaries, the nectar of its mother's teet, it began to greedily suck in the empty air further twisting, twirling the air around the mysterious singularity.

For a while, the small hole did nothing but continue sucking in the air, and -with it-, the waning, sparsely spread out essences as well. It kept on absorbing the magical particles of this deserted plane, merging it with itself, gradually gaining more and more power as time went on.

A bit of time passed like this before the little black dot changed its strategy and began to expand. Its mysterious ebony mass began to take up more and more of the surrounding territory, growing in size with each passing second.

The expanse didn't seem to slow down even as the little dot was no longer the size of the tip of a needle but was now looking like a small window, giving a despairing view into the dark and empty void.

Yet, its hungry conquest didn't falter, its size kept on changing, the edges of its magic-filled membrane kept on growing, reaching out for new and new of the unclaimed space around it.

The crazed expedition only began to dwindle once its claimed territory reached the size of a spacious gate, reaching high up in the sky and, at the same time, claiming much of the plateau's ground.

Reaching its predestined size, the hole, now a literal portal to the unknown, began to calm down. Its edges no longer trembled, its desire fulfilled, its form took shape. An armed doorway, a portal, the ritual-made [Gateway] opened upon an empty plateau at the southern regions of the barren world, the Battlefield, providing an entry point to a band of misfits.

A big group of adventurers together with some mercenaries appeared one by one through the rippling surface of the dimensional traversal spell. Youths that looked to be at the age of barely reaching adulthood, appeared together with what seemed to be their elders.

The mercenaries, unlike the youngsters that were wearing a shining, glamorous, and lavish-looking set of armors and clothing, were wearing age-worn, and battle-hardened attire. The sparkles have all vanished from their steel plates, replaced by scratch marks left there through monstrous claws and a slew of sharp edges.

As they appeared, the newcomers stood to the side, giving space to the next member of their colorful company to step on the land him- or herself as well. For over a minute, men and women kept appearing one by one, even a pair of black-furred war hounds followed a blond, long-haired half-elven girl.

They greeted each other with a hearty laugh, a cheer, or in some cases, a hug. The atmosphere was elated, they all seemed excited, they didn't seem to be scared of the big weight, the pressure placed upon them. Nay, they all seemed to be looking forward to it. Though their reasons may be different, ultimately each side: the adventurers and the mercenaries as well, saw the opportunity of a lifetime in the next month of their time they all agreed to spend in this wasteland.

As the last of the missing mercenaries stepped out, the situation suddenly turned for the worse. The portal, the [Gateway] abruptly lost its luster, its light dimmed, and with it began to lose its form, and shrink at a swift pace.

Startled by the sudden shift, the group looked worriedly at the dimming portal, nervous, agitated, and worried about the last, and probably the most important person that had yet to cross through and step over to this land.

Yet, even as the portal lost its shape, as it slowly but surely began to shrink back to its original tip of the needle shape, no ripples were made to the surface, neither friend nor foe crossed through. Nothing and nobody came, even as the portal returned to its original size and with a plop, vanished from their sights.

”Wait… What?!” Lily asked with a shocked expression. ”Where's brother?!” His tone was worried, carrying a hint of growing hysteria.

”Uhm…” Captain Don frowned, his brows danced to a somber tune creasing higher up on his forehead. ”Something must have gone amiss. Maybe he was left behind as the portal closed for some reason?” He suggested.